Sold by David Brass Rare Books, Inc., Calabasas, CA, U.S.A.
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AbeBooks Seller since February 1, 2007
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
One of the Rarest of all the Thomas Rowlandson Items "These Delicate Engravings show Various Fictional Characters taken from Various Ranks of Society" ROWLANDSON, Thomas, illustrator. [Twelfth Night Characters, in Twenty-Four Figures]. London: [Thomas Tegg, Cheapside, 1811]. Twelvemo (3 7/16 x 2 1/4 inches; 88 x 57 mm.). The complete set of 24 hand-colored etchings on stiff card mounted on stubs, each titled at head and with a 4-line verse below. Bound ca. 1890 in full red morocco covers elaborately paneled in gilt, spine with five raised bands elaborately decorated and lettered in gilt in compartments, gilt-dotted board edges, decorative gilt turn-ins, marbled end-papers, all edges gilt. Very fine. An extremely rare Rowlandson item. Originally published on two sheets, 12 images per sheet without title or preliminaries. These delicate engravings show various fictional characters taken from various ranks of society. The verse below each plate reveals something of the supposed character visualized from the imaginary name and title. The twenty-four small figures embody the roles of King, Queen, Lady Lydia Blaze, Mr. Nimble, Miss Gadabout, Miss Busy, Dolly Diligent, Priscilla Prudent, Major Matchless, Jemmy Dazzle, Sir Peter Puff, Sir Chas. Worthy, Lady Racket, Sir Simon Solid, Lord Flutter, Sir Timy. Spruce, Lady Careless, Lord Zealous, Giles Diligent, Mrs. Friendly, Cap.n Dash, Lady Peaceable, Lady Flutter, Miss Sparkle. Once cut into cards, Regency era party-goers could draw these figures out of a hat, then perform the characters-a host might also send such cards to guests in advance to allow them to prepare suitable costumes. Festivities on January 6th, which is also known as Three Kings' Day or the Feast of the Epiphany, concluded the Christmas season and often included games that disrupted the normal social order; a servant, for example, might be elevated to monarch of the feast. Specially decorated cakes were enjoyed and examples appear here next to the king and queen. The practice of distributing these cards as individual invitations has inevitably resulted in a complete set being excessively rare. OCLC/KVK locate just one example in libraries and institutions worldwide: Yale Univ. Lib. (CT,US). This present example has been in a private collection since before the second world war. "Rowlandson's figures have no obvious connection to Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night." Scholars do, however, posit that that play may have first been performed at the end of the Christmas season, and note how the dramatic shifts of fortune, costume and gender that occur in the plot echo Tudor Twelfth Night revels." (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.) Bobins III, 891; Falk Supplement, p. 217; Grego II, p. 214 (note); Grolier Rowlandson, p. 123; Prideaux, p. 385; Not in Abbey Life in England.
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